Flowering season @ office

The huge amount of direct sunlight our office garden gets is quite enviable really. While my home patio is lush and green from the lack of sunlight, it's exactly the opposite scenario at our office.

The frangipani trees at home have not flowered in years but the one in my office is constantly flaunting large bunches of flowers.

Bougainvillea plants thrive in hot and bright places, so our office patio is the perfect place to grow them. Given our extremely hot weather these days, the plants are bursting with red petals.

Needless to say, it would be a waste of time and space to grow them at home. Luckily I have the best of both worlds.

Sweet longans

I waited six long years for our longan tree to bear fruit and finally, we're enjoying homegrown longans for the first time!

A friend gave me the sapling years ago. I planted it in my parent's yard and have been waiting for harvest ever since. It's still a small tree. I thought the growth was stunted and had given up completely until I saw some flowers last year. Unfortunately the flowers fell off without developing any fruits.

Seeing its potential, my father must have nurtured it back to health because we're having a good harvest this year. The flesh is softer and sweeter but lacks the crunch of the Thailand species.

Considering it is organic and homegrown, it's the best longan I've eaten!

Show stealer!

I saw this gorgeous Phalaenopsis Orchid on sale at S$5 (USD4) at Far East Flora that day and I'm so glad to have bought it!

I remember these orchids used to cost a bomb, but the garden centres are filled with them now. Still, it was a steal at $5!

The simple life

I can't really complain about the lack of space in my patio garden because I get to romp about in my parent's backyard every weekend. They rotate the crops regularly and these days, the yard is dominated by gigantic yam plants. My dad is really good at growing them. The tubers are huge and they taste fantastic simply steamed.

They have so much vegetables to spare, mum is always urging me to bring some home. Every Saturday evening, you will find me harvesting bags of sweet potato leaves, 'Di Huang Cai' or chives. They are organic and free. What more can a girl ask for?

Brilliant!

This is what you get when you combine two different plants in one pot.

When both my hisbicus plants became straggly and sad looking, I decided to repot them into one large pot, wondering if they would ever flower again.

After adding some organic fertiliser two weeks ago, I spotted some new buds. Today, the patio is ablaze with two huge flowers!

Quite amazing really.

New plants

I was planning to add a wooden deck just outside the balcony but I didn't expect the cost to be so high. The deck area is only (12x5ft) 60 sq ft but I can imagine how it would make a difference to my living room space. That would also mean hacking off part of the old boardwalk.

I'm still deliberating.

While I don't have any new deck to flaunt, let me show you some new plants I have bought.

Wild flowers at Bukit Timah